Virtuous Deciet
by Jenna of the Red Robes
Summary: Jane Seymour has been known throughout history as the only women to have been able to give King Henry VIII a male heir to the throne. But, what do we really know about the short-lived Queen? This is the story of Jane Seymour, an obedient child who is used in her ambitious family's plot for the throne. Follow her from childhood to becoming the most powerful woman in England.
1. Death

This is my first Tudors fic, please enjoy! (this will be based more off of history than the show)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~v~d~~~~

I know that I am to die. The Royal Physicians keep assuring me that my fever shall break soon and that all will be well but, I know that this is not destined to be.

I shall never see my beloved son grow into a strong and handsome Prince, an heir worthy of our great country. I will never experience the joy of being with my husband as we watch Edward participate in his first joust or when his household moves to Ludlow castle. I will not live long enough to relish in the fact that I am the revered Queen, mother of the heir to the throne.

No, this future is no longer mine. It is to be stolen from me by the cruel hands of illness.

Have I tempted fate? Is this it's revenge upon me? Am I to blame for this sickness? Many may argue the point while others are my strong advocates. Is this the price I must pay for my desire to please my family?

It is true that death will soon claim me, like I claimed the throne from my predecessor. However, my plight begs the question: Was I truly in the wrong? I made the king desire me, just as she had once done. I was the cool ice to sooth her burning flame.

I will admit that my intentions were not purely noble. My family was and still is as ambitious as any other. And I, the obedient daughter, did whatever I was told to do so that I could help better us. When my tale was set into motion, I had no way to know that it would end in _her _death. How could I have?

One might wonder why I reflect upon these thoughts in my final hours; I find them uniquely appropriate. I may die the Queen of England but, I was born as a mere nobleman's daughter. The road to where I am now was not easy and it is filled with things that I myself am not proud of. Although they were essential in my family's grand scheme of things.

I obeyed and now I must pay the highest price. I enticed the King and now I must pay the highest price. I allowed an innocent women to be killed and now I must pay the highest price. I have given birth to a son, the rightful Prince of Wales, and now I must pay the highest price.

It is my dying wish that someone know my side of the story so that they may draw their own conclusions of me. I beg of you, do not judge me too harshly, for obedience has always been of utmost importance to me and I did not always have the choice to do what I wished to do.

Decide for yourself: Was I simply a victim of circumstance thrust upon the world stage? An obedient daughter doing what was expected of her? Of perhaps a conniving harlot fighting for the throne?

Am I to be remembered in a positive or negative light? Only you can decide.

This is my story, the life of Jane Seymour, wife of King Henry VIII, and the Queen of England.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~v~d~~~

What did you think? Normally my chapters are longer than this, this was just the intro to it all. Should I continue this story? Please review and let me know!

Have a wonderful day! :)


	2. The Beginning

Here is chapter 2! Nothing extremely exciting happens in this chapter, but it does set the stage. I would like to warn you now that although I try to be historically accurate, I am not perfect and have taken some liberties with the years, ages, etc. (it is fan fiction!) Please enjoy!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~v~d~

I was born on a stormy day in late October of 1508. The servants told me that my mother's screams of labor were almost silenced by the pounding of the thunder coming from outside. The strikes of lightning shone ominously thorough the richly curtained windows of the birthing chambers, giving the room an unearthly glow. My mother's eyes were clenched in pain as I was pushed from her womb after 13 hours of intense pushing. My mother slipped into unconsciousness as the nurse wrapped me in a blanket and put me in a cradle in the adjoining chamber.

According to the whispered folklore of Wolfhall, when my father learned of my mother's state he rushed into the chamber's to ensure that she was okay. But, when the nurse informed him that she had given birth to a daughter, not another son which was what he so desired, he sputtered in rage. He told the nurse that if his wife, Margaret, was wise then she would never awake and face her failure. With a swishing of his grand cloak, my father supposedly strode from the room, never stopping to see his firstborn daughter.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~v~d~~~~~~

Despite my father's early coldness, I grew up in a lively household. I had two brothers and one sister. My eldest sibling was Edward, he surpassed my age by four years. He was a sweet boy who always looked after me. My younger brother, Thomas, was only one year behind me while my darling Elizabeth was five years younger than I. I loved her dearly and strove to spend time with her. My brothers were quite the dynamic duo and were always at each other's side, scheming and causing chaos.

When Edward turned 15 my father deemed it appropriate that he be sent to court. He was to work in the King's Household and he was very excited by the prospect.

The day he left was bright and sunny. Edward was standing tall and proud in his new court clothes. He smiled benignly at us as he got onto his horse. He tipped his cap to Elizabeth, causing the young girl to giggle. Her brown hair was pulled back with a red ribbon and her face glowed with youthful beauty. Thomas stared greedily at Edward, his lips curled in a frown of anger. It was a well known fact that he was jealous that he was to stay at home while Edward got to go and live in the wondrous world of the King . My mother did not join us to see Edward off, claiming that her head was ailing her. Father mounted his horse and our guards galloped ahead of him.

"Farewell, Jane!" Edward said to me, as he began to lead his horse toward the gates. "I will be back for you soon! I'm sure of it!" He continued with an air of false imperiousness. I smiled serenely and waved to him. My siblings returned to the house when my father and brother had gotten past the gates but, I stayed until I could see them no longer. A slight breeze rustled the hems of my blue dress and caused my blonde hair to swirl around me.

"One day soon," I whispered longingly. The wind was my only companion as I trudged back to my home, wishing that I was heading toward court instead.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~v~d~~

My chance came when I was 13. My brother Edward had been at court for two years and now held the prestigious position of being one of the king's undersecretaries. The court was going on their summer progress and he had returned home.

I was sitting in my chambers, a bible in my hand, when he came barging in.

"My dear sister," he said sweetly.

"Edward!" I exclaimed as I put down my book and rushed to greet him. As I approached my brother he dropped into a deep mocking bow. He offered me his arm and I followed him to my father's rooms. He had all the grace of a courtier who had been at court for the majority of their life. It was clear that he thrived in that environment. I was wearing a pale green dress that complimented my sibling's forest green attire.

When we entered, my father was sitting at his desk, reading something quickly. He heard us enter and glanced towards us. I dropped into a quick curtsey and Edward inclined his head.

"So it is true?" My father, John Seymour, asked brusquely. He was always straight to the point, not wasting time on the formalities that he deemed useless.

"Indeed father. The Queen said that she would be very pleased to welcome her." Edward responded smoothly. John Seymour smiled, which was a very rare occurrence.

"Wait, who are we speaking of?" I asked, forgoing my usual obedient silence. Edward looked at me with a faint smirk gracing his features.

"We are speaking of you, Jane!" My eyes widened in shock. "Our noble Queen Catherine has offered you a position as one of her ladies-in-waiting." He added.

"Truly? I am to go to court?" I questioned eagerly, my eyes flitting between my father and brother.

"Yes, Jane. After summer progress is over, you shall join the court. Edward will be spending the summer here then, he shall escort you there. Is that understood?"

"Yes, father." I said demurely, casting my eyes down to hide my excitement. It was not becoming to wear your emotions upon your sleeve. Edward gave a quick nod and took my arm, leading me away. Our audience with our father was over.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~v~d~~

That summer went faster than any summer before it. I was more than ready to go to court. It had been my dream for years. I had always imagined the magnificent parties, delicious feasts, and thrilling sports! And I often thought of the King and the Queen. I had never seen them before and I yearned to! I fancied them to be the most beautiful people in the world, how could they not be? They were ordained by the heavenly father to lead our land, I just knew that they would be perfect.

I woke up early on the morning that we were to leave. My belongings were packed and all that I had left to do was to be dressed. I slipped on a simple brown riding gown. My golden hair now flowed past my shoulders, and it was currently pulled back with a light blue ribbon. I chose not to wear a headdress for travel.

There was a slight chill in the air when I went to the stables. The cool September morning caused me to put my arms around myself. Edward was already there when I arrived.

"Are you ready?" He asked me quietly. I nodded my head in agreement and he helped me to mount my steed. He hopped gracefully on to his own horse and started heading toward the road. He signaled for our guards to ride behind us.

"Where are mother and father? And Thomas, Elizabeth? Are they not to see us off?" I asked, noticing my family's absence.

"Elizabeth fell ill last night." Edward responded curtly. I halted my horse.

"What? Oh Edward, I must go to her! She gets so afraid when she-"

"No," He interrupted me. "We must leave! Jane, you must quickly learn that you are to do what your family orders, without asking questions. Father said to leave at first light so now we must leave. You are no longer a child. You must stop acting like one." He said rudely, spurring his horse onward. My eyes stung with tears that I was determined not to shed. I was a Seymour; we were not to cry in public.

I glanced back at Wolfhall with a heavy heart. My dear sister was sick and I was not allowed to do anything to help her. As I followed my brother to court I couldn't help but wonder what else I would be forced to give up in the course of my life due to my family's orders. I knew that life at court was going to be different than anything I had ever experienced before. I was thrilled before but, my initial happiness was now tinged with unease, due to my brother's harsh words. I kept one hand on the reigns while the other grasped my cross necklace that I always wore. Its cool touch usually helped to calm me down. My bitter musings however, continued.

Edward had always been extremely polite to me but, court had changed him. I couldn't help but fear, would it change me to?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~v~d~

I hope you liked it! Reviews are always welcomed (and loved!) And I'm not sure if a "king's undersecretary" actually exists but, it sounded like a good position for the young Edward! Haha Anyways, Thank you SO much for reading and have a wonderful day. Next Chapter: Jane is at court! What will she think of it?


End file.
